effectivelywildfandomcom-20200215-history
Episode 726: How Many Fingers is Mike Trout Holding Up?
Date September 16, 2015 Summary Ben and Sam read responses to previous topics, then answer listener emails about Mike Trout, questionable bullpen decisions, what WAR is missing, and more. Topics * Closer usage in non-save situations * Extreme aging curves * Mike Trout's performance with fewer fingers * Pitcher age and outperforming FIP * What factors WAR is missing Intro AC/DC, "I Put the Finger on You" Banter * Episode 724 follow-up: A listener wrote in that if Fantex went out of business Andrew Heaney would likely owe funds to the company via their bankruptcy proceedings. * Episode 725 follow-up: Listeners wrote in with several ways that teams could tank to improve their draft status. Email Questions * Dominic: "On Sunday Zack Greinke was cruising against the Diamondbacks. He had a pitch count in the low 90s after eight innings so I was quite surprised when we returned from Commercial to see Kenley Jansen on the mound warming up for the ninth. When explaining the move the sideline reporter said that Don Mattingly felt that this was the time of the year that you go for it, meaning using Jansen in a four-run non-save situation as you would in the playoffs. So I was confused. Does this mean Mattingly thinks a fresh Jansen is better than the league's ERA leader with 90-95 pitches? Am I wrong to want Greinke protecting that four run lead 10 times out of 10 over Jansen?" * Andrew: "I found on Baseball Reference that there was a baseball player named Sam Miller in the 1970s. He pitched for one year in the Senators' system before calling it a career. He's now 67 years old and lives in Norfolk, VA. Who do you think is a better baseball player currently? Sam Miller the person hosting this podcast or Sam Miller the 67 year old former minor leaguer?" * Jake: "How many fingers would Mike Trout need to lose for you to be better at baseball than he is? A zero fingered Mike Trout is almost definitely worse than both of you but a nine fingered Mike Trout is probably better. Where's the line for you?" * Patrick: "I am curious about what you guys think remains unaccounted for by WAR or WARP, if anything, that might be discovered upon measurement to have as outsized an effect on player evaluation as catcher framing did. I'm not sure I can come up with any plausible areas where this might be the case. Ability to foul pitches off, mustache grooming or some such clubhouse-y thing, but with game calling turning out to be relatively small potatoes I wonder if there are any more grand revelations to be had or if we're sliding headfirst down the era of diminishing returns." Play Index * Sam used the Play Index to see if older pitchers are more likely to outperform their FIP. * The only age bracket with more than a .02 difference between ERA and FIP is aged 31-35, where pitchers have a 3.95 ERA and 4.04 FIP. * Pitchers 25 and under have a 3.98 ERA and 3.96 FIP. * Pitchers 36 and older have a 3.91 ERA and 3.93 FIP. * 25 and under 3.98 ERA and 3.96 FIP Notes * In Episode 693 Sam examined in the Play Index segment the performance of closers in non-save situations. * Sam thinks that the Dodgers should have let Greinke pitch in the ninth and only pulled him if two men got on base. * Sam, while discussing how people age, says he pulled a muscle in his neck and shoulder trying to catch a pop-up during batting practice with the Stompers. * In Episode 212, Episode 693, and Episode 1047 there are similar discussions of extreme long-term aging curves. * During the recording Jon Lester throws out Starling Marte when he tried to steal second base. However it was not a true pickoff throw since Marte was already running. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 726: How Many Fingers is Mike Trout Holding Up? Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes